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International Monetary Fund Managing Director Christine Lagarde issued a fresh warning about the threat US-China trade tensions pose for the world economy and said it may take time for the two nations to resolve their issues.
The comments came two days after tweets by U.S. President Donald Trump warning of new tariffs on China, marking an escalation of hostilities. The U.S. also accused China of retracting on commitments made during the negotiations.
We thought this threat was waning and relations were improving and we were moving toward an agreement. We hope that is still the case but today rumours, tweets and comments are not very favourable, Lagarde said in Paris.
Speaking later in an interview with Bloomberg, Lagarde said there may not be a quick resolution as both sides must tackle very important issues.
Takes Time
All the observers would like it to be done yesterday, but those matters actually take time, Lagarde said.
Chinas top trade negotiator, Liu He, still plans to visit the U.S. this week for trade talks. Trump has said he intends to raise tariffs to 25 per cent (from 10 per cent) on $200 billion of Chinese goods and may also impose duties soon on $325 billion of Chinese goods that aren’t currently covered.
Today, clearly the tensions between the U.S. and China are a threat for the global economy. It is imperative for trade tensions to be resolved in a satisfactory way for everyone, Lagarde added.
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